DZLU MEETING DATE: February 20, 2024
1. ONGOING POLICY UPDATES
a. HOUSING POLICY UPDATES
Housing Element Zoning Program:
DZLU continued discussion of our comments to date on the rezoning proposals. We have drafted another letter to Planning reiterating our desire to retain the current 40-ft heights from Bay Street north along Aquatic Park and Ghirardelli Sq. and not upzone this area to 65-ft. Though modest adjustments have been made at Bay St. immediately fronting Francisco Park, as noted previously this seems highly problematic given proximity to the waterfront and to historic properties.
At the last RHN Board meeting, additional concerns were raised about proposed heights on Polk Street north of Broadway. Though supportive of reasonable density and height increases along main commercial and transit corridors, including Van Ness Avenue and Polk Street, the proposed 14-story zone on several blocks of Polk Street north of Broadway feels excessive and DZLU recommends that heights not exceed eight stories on this section of Russian Hill’s commercial heart.
More generally, we urge that proposed heights along Polk Street be reexamined and adjusted downward, as the distribution of additional height east of Van Ness Avenue, especially on Polk Street, seems inequitable compared to the proposed rezoning of other commercial corridors.
RHN’s letter incorporating these recommendations is here:
https://1drv.ms/b/s!An4fp-3SJwB9gb18wMOb6PPqhzJhxQ
Input continues to be received and another informational presentation to the Planning Commission is scheduled for 4/4/24 (date to be confirmed). RHN will also be hosting a Zoom meeting for members on 3/11/24 at 6:00 pm at which Planning staff will present the current proposals and answer questions. This meeting was highlighted in the current RHN newsletter.
Recently, North Beach Neighbors’ Planning and Zoning Committee invited DZLU to their meeting on 2/26/24 at which a representative of Neighborhoods United SF (NUSF) and a representative of the Housing Action Coalition (HAC) made presentations. NUSF raised concerns about what it believes are excessive heights, inadequate justification, and the rezoning’s ineffectiveness in addressing the lack of middle income affordable housing. HAC summarized State legislation incentivizing housing production, and outlined the severe gap between the supply and demand for housing that has developed over the past 40 years due in part to restrictive policies of local jurisdictions. For more information, see the organizations’ websites:
https://www.neighborhoodsunitedsf.org/
https://housingactioncoalition.org/
On related topics, a recent presentation was made on 2/29/24 at the Planning Commission on strategies to produce below-market-rate housing, and at the Historic Preservation Commission on 2/21/24 on preservation components of the Housing Element and next steps. Detailed information on these is available in the agendas on Planning’s website.
On the next page is an excerpt from the map of the proposed rezoning, focusing on areas closest to Russian Hill. Here is also a link to a high resolution map that facilitates zooming in and out to the street and parcel level.
https://experience.arcgis.com/experience/6e0e399f9c82456dbda233eacebc433d/
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